North Hillingdon Safer Neighbourhoods Policing: MARCH update

This month I would return to my most popular topic – good work by your local police.

Good Work (all undertaken by your local Safer Neighbourhood officers)

A detective in the making: Last month PC Stawiecki identified a pattern of shoplifting offences and established they were being committed by the same pair of thieves. He gathered all the necessary evidence from a number of stores then arranged an early morning visit for the pair. His excellent evidence meant both put their hands up and were charged with 11 offences.

Calling 999 unnecessarily affects our ability to deal with proper incidents: PC Foley and PC Moore dealt with a local resident who was calling police on a daily basis making a variety of accusations including that his neighbour had a gun. The officers identified that the person was in need of medical care and were successful in getting him to hospital for a mental health assessment. Since then the bogus calls have stopped, giving us more time to respond to real emergencies.

Villains – we know what you look like: Having local bobbies means the faces of criminals are well known. After parking meters in Eastcote were targeted by thieves, PC Brown trawled through CCTV footage and identified the main offenders. PC Brown set about locating the offenders and caught them in the act of counting the money they had just stolen from another parking meter! As a result of her hard work and perseverance PC Brown secured 6 charges of theft against these offenders.

Villains – we know what you look like part 2: Police received a call to a woman heard screaming in a local address. PC Foley recognised the address and realised it was likely to be a person subject to a non-molestation order returning to the address. He informed his colleagues of who he thought it was. PC Hamilton and PCSO Parihar were in the area and spotted that person going past them in the other direction on a bus. Their eagles eyes meant they were able to stop the bus and arrest the person for breaching the order.

Villains – we know what you look like part 3: I think you get the point – local officers with local knowledge mean local crooks are often captured. PC Foley again, this time investigating a theft of a wallet from a local store. PC Foley was able to identify the suspect on the CCTV and make an early arrest. The strength of evident against this person meant he fully admitted the offence when interviewed.

A police uniform can work magic: Whilst on patrol PC Christmas was approached by a man who said he had left his wallet in a local pub the night before. When he realised his loss he contacted the pub but they told him they didn’t have it. He was convinced that he had left it there. PC Christmas attended the pub and was insistent that they tried a bit harder to find this wallet. His persistence paid off, the wallet was found and returned to the owner with everything still inside it. The owner was really happy that police had managed to help him out where he felt that he was not able to do anything further himself.

Traffic signs apply to everyone: Sgt Fanton and her team have carried out a number of traffic operations in Northgate where there is a no right turn sign from Ducks Hill Road. This was in response to complaints from residents in Northgate that the route was used as a cut through and the restrictions flouted by drivers all the time. Approximately 40 cars were stopped and warned about their actions. Other offences were also identified and resulted in several cars being seized and drivers being reported.

Youth disorder: In recent weeks Ruislip High Street and the fast food outlets there have seen a rise in youth disorder. A range of tactics have been used to try and get this under control. At one end of the scale PC Murphy and PC Brown arrested two youths for public order offences – those kids are now subject to the judicial system because of their behaviour and because they were also found in possession of drugs. Sgt Charlston and I have also met with local fast food restaurant managers, agreeing on a number of tactics to make their restaurants less of a haven for bad behaviour – yes, that includes officers sitting in the restaurants drinking coffee. We are reclaiming the space, not putting our feet up! The names of those we deal with (the majority of whom are very local) are being shared with the local secondary schools who will also be educating these young people. This work is still ongoing.

Bad days have long lasting consequences: PC Groome investigated an incident where a man purposefully dragged his key down the side of a car parked at a local gym. There was no reason for him to do this and no previous relationship with the owner of the car. He seemingly was having a bad day and decided to take in out on an innocent person’s car. PC Groome arrested him and he has been charged and will be attending court.

Don’t be a bad neighbour: PC Low secured a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order against Celia Tan at her sentencing hearing at Harrow Crown Court this month. Celia Tan had subjected her neighbours to a campaign of malicious and escalating harassment which included her driving at the neighbour’s children. She was also given a 2-year suspended sentence in addition to the 5-months she spent on remand prior to the trial. There is no doubt this woman made her neighbour’s life a misery and PC Low’s excellent work has finally brought her to book.

Acting on information received: PC Christopher acted on intelligence received from local residents and execute a search warrant at an address in Eastcote. He arrested one person for drug offences and a police style acrylic baton was also recovered from the address. Ring 101 or Crimestoppers if you know of wrongdoing, or speak to your local officer.

Partnership working: Sgt Kerr and his team carried out another joint operation with Immigration Services targeting illegal workers and anti-social behaviour in Bradfield Road as a result of complaints by local residents. A police dispersal order was put in place whereby 17 persons were issued notices and 7 were arrested for immigration offences.

Disgusting: A family was being harassed over a period of time culminating in dog faeces being smeared over their front door and car. PC Moore worked hard to link the suspect to the crime, eventually getting sufficient evidence to secure a charge of criminal damage. The victim and his family were very grateful for PC Moore’s efforts in finally dealing with an individual who was affecting their lives.

Remember, this is a snapshot only of what your local officers are up to. They do so much more on top.